Eldritch Horror Theatre

Its concealment was quite skillful, but unfortunately, he had planted a tracker.

Just as he had evaluated earlier, with the fusion of An and White, its Rank was soaring at a rapid pace. Its methods and abilities could no longer be described as merely Mid Tier.

This place was clearly its home ground. If it was determined to hide, finding it would be difficult even for him.

But having an extra thing in its stomach changed everything.

The Seed of Writhing—a small gift presented by His Excellency Arakiel during their tearful farewell before leaving the Nightmare Corridor.

It was another way to exploit a wound. Planting a seed inside served as a jump target for the Extreme Hunger Infection, and if one waited with enough patience, it would eventually hatch.

Just like the one currently ripping open its maternal host’s stomach.

He had previously wondered whether the Seed of Writhing would have any effect while he was in the Scarlet Angel state.

The facts proved that not only did it work, but it thrived.

Compared to the previous time he used it on the miraculous creature Huo, this seed seemed to have undergone violent forced growth, sprouting wildly the moment it was injected.Furthermore, it benefited from this special form, existing in the Scarlet Angel state itself.

Under these circumstances, using his connection to the seed to lock onto the Pestilence Knight’s position was far too easy.

The fact that the latter had rushed out so urgently might have even been due to a kind of pregnancy reaction.

Unfortunately, it was still a bit too slow.

The bug’s behavior after hatching proved the second half of the Seed of Writhing’s description: once fully grown, it would prioritize attacking its incubator.

The giant dragon the Pestilence Knight had transformed into was left looking quite miserable as a result.

Of course, it might not know that this was actually the better outcome.

If the move activated just now had not been the Seed of Writhing, it would have been a Visceral Attack.

The main reason Fu Qian hadn’t rushed the execution was to let this suspected Knights of the Apocalypse role-player maximize its value and provide more information.

It might have lacked a strong subjective willingness to do so, but for a professional, that was hardly a prerequisite.

...

”I invite Your Excellency to appraise this move: Winter Worm, Summer Dragon.”

Bloodlines disintegrated, and miasma overflowed.

The struggle in midair continued in a bizarre manner.

It was clear that this hatched monster bug, truly like a caterpillar fungus, had inherited the essence of its maternal host.

Not only did it similarly brim with divine will to his senses, but at this moment, it remained tightly fused to the lower half of the giant dragon, making it hard to tell them apart.

However, this did not mean he would show mercy.

Just like Madam Ann being split in two, the left wing of the giant dragon was also forcefully torn off.

Although the Dragon of Pestilence floated there and didn’t seem to rely much on aerodynamics, under such heavy damage, it still lost its balance. It thrashed and stumbled until it crashed to the ground.

”You must die!”

Yet even so, facing Fu Qian’s condolences, it was actually Ann’s voice that answered, brimming with a legendary, venomous resentment.

In fact, it didn’t need to be so exaggerated for Fu Qian to feel that emotion.

Ever since he concluded that the other party was merely role-playing to mislead him, he could practically see a certain grudge that wanted to drag everyone down with it.

Although, logically speaking, there was still a tiny possibility that it really was Madam Ann—

”Really? I don’t believe it.”

The next moment, leveling his gaze at the crash-landed dragon, Fu Qian shook his head, his words carrying a double meaning.

From this angle, the body’s structure looked even more bizarre.

The bug was still wreaking havoc, and with only half of it exposed, its swaying made it look as though the giant dragon had grown a scorpion’s tail.

Furthermore, it was out of control, continuously dissecting itself.

Unfortunately, the Scholar and the others were fated not to see this wondrous sight.

Ever since the prompt for the Mythical Form appeared, the three of them had been sprinting wildly with their heads down, not daring to take another glance.

”You have no idea what your situation is—”

”So you do?”

Amid his reflections, Fu Qian casually interrupted the Pestilence Knight’s latest declaration.

”Ah—”

And successfully provoked a mournful howl.

Faced with his impenetrable demeanor, the Pestilence Knight seemingly entered a hysterical state, refusing to answer any more questions.

Roaring at the sky, its entire body, along with the bug in its stomach, actually began to disintegrate rapidly, and the grayish-green phantom snakes danced wildly once again.

”It’s fine if you can’t answer. You can always ask the audience for help.”

No matter how one looked at it, it was about to trigger a Death Rattle. However, Fu Qian had not the slightest intention of temporarily avoiding its edge.

Moving against the current, he lightly dodged a claw and casually thrust his hand into the giant dragon’s body.

He knew His Excellency held many prejudices and was unwilling to ask for Lu Mou’s help no matter what.

But that was okay; he would help it.

As bloodlines danced wildly and collapsed across the sky, this time, the Visceral Attack was truly triggered.

...

There was indeed a bizarre connection.

The giant dragon’s body was already on the verge of collapse; under this execution, it failed to last even a single second longer.

This included its bug tail.

And amid the explosive collapse, that seemingly familiar feeling appeared once again.

Even though it was about to shatter into an aerosol, its body did not completely annihilate. Instead, it melted into its surroundings without leaving a single trace.

Rather than saying it had died and its path faded, it was more like the legendary shattering the void, blending into some imperceptible concept.

One reason for this thought was that, under the retrospective effect of the Visceral Attack, Fu Qian seemed to feel a certain agitation flash past in the surroundings alongside the shattered giant dragon.

There really was something there. It was hard to perceive, but not completely impossible.

From its appearance to its dissipation, the Pestilence Knight had displayed an extreme unwillingness to cooperate.

Regardless of its own situation, it was absolutely determined not to let him gain any benefits from it.

This spirited defiance did indeed have some outstanding qualities, but unfortunately, it had overthought things.

Who said one couldn’t contribute value just because they subjectively didn’t want to?

The highest realm of exploitation never required consent.

Now, it was time to sort through the harvest.

First, this Underground Prison was not simply contaminated by the Crimson Frenzy; rather, it was undergoing a higher-level metamorphosis.

The Dark Gate before him replacing the original tunnel could also be considered one of its manifestations. This place had become more independent relative to the original world.

And the four Knights of the Apocalypse he needed to guard against would be birthed from this metamorphosis.

For the first one he had encountered just now, the foundational material used for its incubation had been an infected person, but he was still unsure if this was a necessary condition.

He couldn’t rule out the possibility that they might just appear out of thin air, or manifest on already-formed Scarlet Angels.

Just as he was unsure if the entity had been promoted from the original personality, or if it was a will that had directly descended.

Fu Qian naturally leaned toward the latter, but there was still very likely a potential risk here—

”Night has fallen. Please open your eyes.”

Fu Qian turned around and looked at the three people who had fled into the distance and dared not look his way.

Just a moment ago, the Pestilence Knight had been constantly guiding the infected, trying to make them actively embrace the Crimson Frenzy.

Therefore, a person’s subjective will might truly play an active role in incubating the Knights of the Apocalypse.